This is a record of my journey as a Muslim. I used to be Catholic and belonged to a missionary organisation. After my conversion, I sat on the board of a Muslim converts' organisation and specialised in da'wah programmes, convert management, interfaith issues and apostasy cases. I am an initiate of a Sufi order. As such, the articles and writings tend to cover these areas.
All the Arabic and graphics could not have been done without the help of my wife, Zafirah.

Tuesday, 4 September 2012

The Nearness of the Servant

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ
ٱلرَّحِيمِ

This is adapted from the Qur'an
commentary of Shaykh Ruzbihan al-Baqli (q.s.),
and translated from the original by the esteemed Dr. Alan Godlas.

When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am
indeed Close (to them); I Listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth
on Me; let them also with a will listen to My Call and believe in Me; that they
may walk in the right way. (Surah al-Baqarah:186)

Namely, if the folk of His Love
and His Unity, Tawhid,
asks us about His Closeness, Dunuwi,
to them, answer, “Indeed He is Near them, Close to them. And He is the Manager of the Secrets of the
core of their heart, fu᾽ad,
with the attribute of the elite, bi
as-swifat al-khasw. So it becomes Burnished by Himself through
their selves for the sake of their selves because His Manifestation, zhuhur,
is for the masses, al-῾umum,
even though only the folk of the elite, ahl
al-khuswusw, see Him. And in the course of the ayat is an allusion to God’s, al-Haqq’s, Transcendence, tanzih, of betweenness, bayniyah, and whereness, ayniyah, because they allude to the
nearness of ‘between’ and the distance of ‘where’.”

Allah (s.w.t.) Answers the call of the supplicant when he calls Him. Namely, He Answers the call of the sincere, mukhliswin,
when they call Him from the depths of their hearts by means of the tongue of
their secrets, asrar, even if they do
not know His Answer to them. So let them
seek an answer from Him when they call Him - with the voices of union, wuswlah,
during the dangers, khatharat, of His
Words, kalimat, - in their hearts to
the table, ma᾽idah,
of witnessing Him in the hospices, zawaya,
of their breasts, swudur, calling Him
characterized, bi na῾t,
by turning away from other than Him. And
let them have faith in Him, namely let them be certain about the secrets of His
malakut and the Light of His Jabarut that were unveiled to them; let
them not listen to the sayings of the enemy.
Perhaps they will be guided rightly to the station of tranquility, thuma᾽ninah,
and the truths of stability, tamkin,
with the condition of gnosis.

Imam ash-Shibli (q.s.) said, “When al-Haqq Caused the servant to find
the delightfulness of nearness to Him, He became Contented with him for his
sake, Took Charge of his governance (siyasah)
for his sake, Trained him with His Ethics and Endowed him with three of the
qualities of His Essence: life in which there is no death, power that does not
cease with incapacity, and property in proximity to the Ruler. So, that is the allusion indicated by His
words, and if His servants ask about Him, answer: “Indeed, I am nearby, I
answer.”

Imam ibn ‘Atha’illah as-Sakandari
(q.s.) said,
concerning this ayah, “When He Said, ‘And
if My servants,’ He Brought His servants into a possessive grammatical
construct relationship with Him; Bringing them into a relationship of election,
not one of possession, as if He wants to Say, ‘When the most elite of My
servants ask you about Me, inform them that I am nearby.’”

One of them said, “When those
who yearn among My servants ask you about me, inform them that I am closer to
them than everyone who is close, and I am present in their suppositions.”

Shaykh Ruwaym (q.s.) said, “Nearness causes the
cessation of every source of objection.”